STIGMA
by Isis976
Summary: Alex McCann is one of many agents in secret organisation that observes and reports activity on the supernatural. But what will happen when she becomes entangled in the resurrection of a powerful human/demon hybrid who everyone else believed to be dead?
1. AFTERMATH

**S.T.I.G.M.A.**

**Chapter 1: Aftermath**

The sound of broken wood, metal and demon corpses crunched under my knee high leather boots that fitted snugly over my black jeans. There was debris, blood and what I termed to be just general shit everywhere in the courtyard outside the church of Sparda in the city of Fortuna.

The sun was disappearing behind the ruins of the original demon gate that until two days ago had been spewing out lesser demons while a shadow of a false saviour had been trumping around in the form of a statue of the demon who had saved our world from annihilation by the demon emperor Mundus.

I surveyed the extent of the damage of what appeared to be the result of a colossal battle that from witness accounts involved the false saviour, a psychotic priest and descendants of Sparda.

While to most it would seem ludicrous and hard to believe, I knew better. I had long heard of the order of the sword and I had personally seen with my own eyes to what I known at the time to be the only son of Sparda still living; the devil hunter Dante.

Of course he had no idea I had seen him or knew who he was. My job was to investigate, observe and report while appearing as one of the crowd or even better a shadow on the wall. I certainly knew how to blend in. My curly auburn hair was nothing special and was certainly even less when pulled back into a pony tail. My green eyes which were rarer than even blue eyes were changed to a dull brown by the power of glamour magic by the witches of STIGMA's covenant. I knew how to blend in. I knew how to be completely dull and ordinary.

"Alex, are you even listening to me?" An impatient female voice interrupted me through my headset.

I snapped out of my thoughts. "Sorry Carmen. Just taking it all in."

"Whatever McCann. Report."

"There's not much to report other than this place is a massive wreck. From what I can tell either Dante or the other guy who's name I haven't been able to figure out yet took down the statue and then eliminated all the lesser demons that came after that battle. There are about twenty demon corpses. We'll need a clean up crew here soon.

"Have you been able to get anything from any of the other town's people who live here?"

I shook my head. "Not a thing. They're all too freaked out to talk. It was a miracle we were able to get an account from that couple earlier about the battle. I doubt they'll be talking about it anytime soon."

"Well I'll leave that to the clean up crew. They'll be bound to have more luck." She paused. "Proceed to the church and report what you find."

"Roger that. McCann out."

Carmen Detrius was not only my superior but also my mentor. At times she could be demanding, impatient and a royal pain in the ass. But she had taken me in when I was out on the streets as a kid and moulded me into who I was today. She was definitely one of the most important people in my life.

I hit the small button on my headset on right ear that not only closed the comm. channel but retracted the orange square that covered my right which allowed Carmen to see what I was seeing and reached for my modified desert eagle in the brown holster rig that sat over my plain white t-shirt and under my standard issue black STIGMA wind cheater.. My hand went to the black katana at my right hip. The wind had picked up and it felt very cold and eerie now that night had fallen.

With careful quiet steps I started walking towards the white marble steps that headed to the church. As I ascended I could see the damage that death and destruction had done to this once beautiful place. The red carpet in the hallway leading into the church were stained with demon slime and what smelt like human blood; a smell that I unfortunately was too accustomed to.

The hallways were well lit by torches that seemed to have been burning for some days now. If it were not for them the hallway would have been completely dark.

As I reached the door of the church I checked the magazine of my gun. It was full. I shook my head at my paranoid behaviour. It was something I had never been fully able to shake. Everything had to be checked before I barged in with gun and sword blazing.

I pushed the door open. It didn't creak like in old horror movies. I stepped inside and pushed it shut behind me to shut out the wind.

Inside was not quite as bad as the outside had been. Sure it had the appearance of being ravaged by a battle but other than one corpse there was no grisly remains. The pews were broken up and scattered all around the room. The statue of Sparda was a wreck however. I surveyed the damage from the altar. His once chiselled face was no longer recognisable but was filled with bullet holes and sword marks.

I hit the button on my headset to open the channel to Carmen. "McCann to Detrius."

"Go ahead McCann. What's the status of the church?"

"Not too bad actually. Apart from no longer having anywhere to sit most of it is still intact. There's only one body here too."

"Can you identify it?"

I grabbed a torch from one of the pillars near the altar and walked over to where the body had been sitting.

"It's a male, around 6'2, long dark hair, tanned skin, gold monocle and he's wearing clothing that would suggest he was a member of the order. He has a gunshot wound to the head. But as to his identity I have no idea. He hasn't been in any of the few files I've read about the order of the sword."

"Send me a photo."

I adjusted the viewing scope over my eye and snapped a picture. The data immediately was sent to Carmen.

"Scanning." I could hear her typing away as the picture went through our database. "That is Agnus. He was a scientist for the order and from what I hear; one creepy mother fucker."

I smirked. "What do you want me to do with him? Should I burn the body?"

"No. Our cleaning boys are already on their way. ETA approx 15 minutes. Finish up there and then head home."

"Roger that. McCann out."

I started walking away when I heard a crash in the back of the church.

Like an idiot I whipped my head around and called out. "Hello?"

I could hear someone or something creeping around. I drew my sword and quietly walked towards the source of the noise. With each step I could feel my heart rate speeding up. I could barely see anything. The torch I carried provided only minimal light.

When I finally reached the back I found that a statue had collapsed. I sighed with relief. The damage from the battle inside must have carried a greater after effect than I had originally thought. I rolled my eyes at my stupidity.

I started to head towards the exit when I saw a flicker of blue in front of me.

"What the hell?"

Then without warning it was in my face; a demon with blue skin, fangs and wings. It knocked me down as I pointed my gun at it and fired over and over until the clip was empty. It was knocked back onto the ground.

I jumped to my feet and walked to the body with my sword in front of me. But to my shock it was no longer a demon but a man; a man with silver hair and pale skin. I knelt down beside him and placed my finger on his neck to check for a pulse.

As I touched him his eyes flew open and glared at me with rage. In an instant the man was gone, replaced by a reptilian demon that screamed at me and then flew up and into the roof. Shards of glass felt above me as I ran to take cover under the wreckage of pews.

"Alex, report." I couldn't speak. "Alexandra Louise McCann report in NOW!"

'Yeah I'm here." I spoke in a shaky voice.

"What the hell just happened?"

"Damned if I know."

**Author's Note: This isn't the first DMC fic I have written but certainly the first I have published. Reviews are welcome.**

**Next Chapter: Headquarters**


	2. HEADQUARTERS

**STIGMA**

**Chapter 2: Headquarters**

The next few minutes were a complete blur. All I remember was somehow ending up outside the church sitting on the steps with my arms around my knees. I had never been scared like this before. Not even a Vanguard or a scarecrow had even frightened me this much. Sure they were hideous and occasionally dangerous but not frightening, at least not to me.

"Who was that man with the silver hair?" I whispered to myself? I had never seen anyone that youthful in appearance with that colour hair before. Could someone with the features of what I considered to be an angel be a monster as well?

"ALEX!!

I blinked and looked up to see my twin brother Adrian running to me. He was dressed in what appeared to the untrained eye to be a hazmat suit when in reality it was enchanted cloth that was covered in layer upon layer of protection spells.

"Are you alright?" He demanded as he reached my side and enveloped me in a tight bear hug.

Adrian and I were separated after our parents died. We were both put into foster homes. I didn't see him from the time I was eight til I was nineteen when we had both started our training at STIGMA. The seers told us that this was no coincidence and it was our destiny to work together for the good of mankind.

We were both identical twins in terms of hair & eye colour and face shape. But his physical training for his job had made him quite strong and muscular. He always seemed to get the attention of all the girls. They loved his eyes. It was a pity I always had to hide mine.

"Yeah I'm okay. I'm just a bit freaked out."

"What happened in there?"

I signed. "To be completely honest with you; I have no idea."

"Carmen said you were attacked by a demon of some sort. Once I'm done here I'm taking you to see Dr Hanif at headquarters."

I groaned. "Aw come on Adrian. I just want to go home."

He rolled his eyes. "You're going."

"Says who?"

"I'm the oldest."

"Yeah by five minutes."

"Alex, for the love of God can you please not argue with me just this once? " He gave me his pleading puppy dog eyes look. "You know I'm only worried about you."

"I know." I hugged him again. "How long will you be?"

"Not long. There's really not much we can do here anyway apart from remove the corpses and any bodily fluids they may have left behind. The cosmetic damage will have to be left alone as per usual."

It was STIGMA policy that we could only remove traces of demons and monsters. Any damage they created to the structural integrity of where they chose to attack was outside our jurisdiction. In other words they broke it, we didn't buy it.

Already most of the work was done. The cleaners had already cast spells to illuminate what they needed to remove from the scene. Now they were in the process of sweeping everything up by hand. Very little magic was allowed to used to when cleaning as there was fear that it could interfere with whatever dying magics were left in the remains. The illumination spell was very mild and could be used without triggering any potential disasters.

I wandered back inside the church where my brother was. The entire area was aglow with blue light from the spell and made the place look ethereal; as if it were a place from a dream. The body of the order official Agnus was now wrapped in a black body bag sealed by charms. It would be taken for autopsy and then burned like all the others. No physical evidence of their death would be allowed to remain on this earth. That was our way.

I wandered up to the back where I had been attacked to search for any trace of the mysterious young man. There was only the broken statue, shells from the bullets that I fired and a scrap of black material on the ground. I knelt down and picked it up. It was smooth to touch and appeared to be silk.

"Alex, you coming?" I heard my brother call to me. I quickly stuffed the material inside my jacket pocket.

"Be right there." I answered. I took once last look to see if I had missed anything else and then ran quickly to join the others.

"Hey Alex! Heard you got frightened by a little demon." A teasing voice came from behind me. The rest of the crew laughed. I grinned.

"Fuck you Jason."

"Please; you only wish you could have a piece of this." He then placed his arm around my shoulder. "Seriously are you okay?"

"Would everyone stop asking that?" I whined. "I'm fine."

Jason put his hands up in surrender. "Okay you win. From now on I'll pretend to not care what happens to you.

"Thanks Jace. I knew I could count on you."

Jason Sherbon was my brother's best friend and also one of the cleaning crew. We had tried to date for a little while but there didn't seem to be any chemistry. So we had settled for a close knit friendship instead. I had never regretted it. I knew he was someone I could rely on in any situation.

"So may I escort you back to headquarters my lady?"

"Not a chance Jace. I have my bike."

"You are not getting on that thing after what happened tonight." Adrian snapped. "You're coming with me. "The guys can pack the bike in with our gear."

I threw my hands up in frustration. "Fine. Just make sure they don't put any scratches on it."

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Two hours later we were back at the massive estate known as STIGMA headquarters. It was built like a massive mansion but inside housed not only sixty other agents like myself, eight cleaning crews, a hundred scientists, two hundred support staff in various roles across the organisation, twenty doctors, thirty witches and ten powerful seers. This was all paid for by a mysterious benefactor known as Mr Giovanni. Only those on the top tier of management had dealings with him.

I had been at STIGMA for six years now. In that time I had received training in combat, investigative techniques and some low level protection magic. I was a paranormal investigator who collected data on the supernatural incidents that occurred on an everyday basis in the human world but I was never allowed to interfere. That was STIGMA's purpose. We observed and documented but were never involved. Apparently it was not yet our time and not our fight, or at least that was the message from the seers.

The seers had two purposes. The first was to provide agents with any information they may need for their assignments. The second was to monitor the destiny of STIGMA or whatever that meant. From what Carmen had told me they had predicted that one day STIGMA would play a part in saving humanity from the darkness once more but for now we were to remain in the shadows, recording the parts of human history that no one but us were privy to.

Once inside the main entrance, Adrian took my arm and pulled me in the direction of the medical wing

"You don't need to pull me along. I'm not a puppy."

He smirked. "Just making sure you do what you're told little sis."

"Five minutes barely counts for shit, you idiot."

"Hey Mom counted it."

"Did she also tell you that you were special?"

"Yeah yeah shut up."

We reached the medical wing which with the exception of the doctors on duty was empty. Dr Nisha Hanif who was my assigned doctor was reading what appeared to be someone's test results. She smiled as she saw us walk in.

"Good evening Alexandra, Adrian. Alex, you look as if you've had a rough night."

"She was attacked." Adrian replied bluntly.

"I was not attacked!" I cried. "I was…jumped at."

She only laughed at our banter. "Well I had better have a look at you just the same." She motioned to one of the beds next to her. "Come sit down over here and I'll take your vitals."

I sat down while she brought over the necessary equipment to take my pulse, heart rate and blood pressure. The whole process really only took a few minutes.

"Well everything checks out fine. Do you feel any pain, nausea or dizziness?"

I shook my head.

"Well you can go but I'd recommend getting a good night's sleep."

"Thanks doc." I walked out of there with Adrian right behind me.

"See I told you so."

"You should go see Carmen. She was worried about you." He then started walking off. "Well I'm done for the day. I'll see you tomorrow okay?"

"See ya bro."

I watched him walk away with a smile and a shake of the head. Despite my whining about being babied I was happy that I had him around to fuss over me.

I headed to Carmen's office which was on the in the operations centre. Ops was directly behind the medical centre so it wasn't too far of a walk.

The operations centre was a mix of techno geeks and seers. The techno geeks reported directly to Carmen who also managed the paranormal agents. The seers reported to Mr Giovanni.

This annoyed the hell out of Carmen. It wasn't that she wanted to hand out the orders but to her; a former agent who had spent a good deal of her life on the frontlines, battling demons and risking her own wellbeing reporting on supernatural events for the sake of STIGMA she felt that those who didn't play such a pivotal role shouldn't be placed so high within our ranks.

To be honest I did kind of feel the same way but I knew it wasn't my place to say so. I had always wondered who Mr Giovanni was and why anyone with superhuman abilities was placed on a higher scale in our hierarchy. But at the end of the day I was paid well, I was cared for and my work was interesting. Who was I to complain about rank?

As I walked through the centre I could hear the constant sounds of keyboards being pounded upon, chattering going on between all of the techno geeks who were constantly following up leads for us to investigate. The Seers however were completely silent. They each sat in sound proof chambers which were transparent. The chambers were lit up with blessed candles, crystals and god knows what else they used to enhance their abilities.

As I walked by the chambers of the Seers they each stopped and stared at me. One of them even gasped. I stopped, turned around and gave them a glare.

"What the hell is your problem?" I mouthed to them knowing full well they would understand me. A few of them looked away embarrassed. Rolling my eyes, I kept walking.

"That's right bitch. Just keep to yourself." I muttered as I reached Carmen's office and knocked on the door.

"It's open." I heard her call out. I opened the door and stepped inside.

"Could we possibly move the seers to somewhere where they won't freak me out?" I asked as I shut the door. "I swear every time I'm down here they look at me as if I'm Sparda incarnate."

"As tempting as that sounds I'm afraid that Mr Giovanni's orders are for them to work directly with the agents and that means right here in ops." She scowled as if the very thought left a bitter taste in her mouth. She ran her right hand through her blonde hair. "Try to ignore them where possible."

I laughed softly. "I always do."

She smiled but concern showed in her blue eyes. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine Carmen, really I am. Adrian made me go see the doctor and everything's fine. I don't even have a scratch on me."

"I know." Her expression became more serious. "What did you see?"

I shot her a confused look. "You haven't seen the footage from my recorder?"

"You know damn well those things can only give us so much information. I want your account of the situation."

"Well it was blue, it had wings, sharp fangs…There wasn't a lot of light but it changed into a human after I shot it."

She nodded. "It could be a changeling or a hybrid. What did this human look like?"

"He had silver hair, very pale complexion, quite tall. I didn't see his eye colour thought but…" I trailed off, lost in my own thoughts about my encounter with this thing.

"Well?" Carmen sounded impatient.

I signed. "Now that I think about it he reminds of Sparda's son, Dante."

Carmen's eyes grew wide. "What did you say?"

Before I could respond she was on the phone.

"Derek I need all the data on Sparda and his sons sent to my computer right now."

"Sons!" I exclaimed. "There's more than one?"

She didn't answer. She was too busy going through the file.

"Carmen, what the hell is going on?"

She turned her monitor around. "Did the thing that attacked you tonight look like this?"

My breath caught in my throat. The man on the screen was the same. In this picture he wore a black silk shirt, vest, leather pants and blue coat. I clutched at the scrap of black silk in my pocket. I slowly nodded my head.

"Who is this man?"

"That is Vergil Sparda. The eldest of the Sparda twins."

I let loose a stream of expletives.

**Author's note: **

**Devil Rebel – Thanks for the first review.**

**To everyone else reading I promise the action will start picking up soon. Just had to get past a lot of necessary exposition.**

**Next chapter: Dante**


	3. DANTE

**STIGMA**

**Chapter 3: Dante**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Devil May Cry, Dante or Vergil (I so wish I did).**

The sun had only just started to rise as Adrian drove our blue Land Rover through the desert roads on our way to our next assignment. We had left very early that morning. It was still quite cold and would remain so until the sun had fully risen. The heaters made the car too stuffy so they remained off and I sat in the front seat pulling my leather jacket tighter around me for warmth.

"It will be warmer soon enough." My brother remarked beside me.

"Yeah I know." I glanced over at him.

"You know I still don't see why we had to leave so early."

"It is the will of Mr Giovanni." I replied nonchalantly.

"Have you ever considered who you met two days ago may just be a puppet for the seers and that we're being played by our own people?"

I didn't consider the seers to be one of 'our people'. They seemed to distance themselves from us, hiding in their chambers and emerging only when they had to orders to pass down from the boss.

"The thought has crossed my mind." I admitted. "But for now let's just go along with it. If they are I'll just to have to kick their collective asses."

We continued driving in silence. I leaned my head against the window and closed my eyes. My thoughts were cast back to two days ago when we had received our orders.

"_That is Vergil Sparda. The eldest of the Sparda twins."_

_I let loose a stream of expletives. Carmen simply continued on._

"_Not many in STIGMA are aware of his existence. We've kept it secret for the longest time."_

"_Why?" I questioned._

"_Because of what he tried to do before his brother stopped him. Vergil was almost responsible for unleashing hell on earth. He tried __to undo the seal of Sparda and claim his father's power for his own, regardless of the effects it would have had on our world. According to our records he's supposed to be dead."_

"_It would appear that our records are mistaken." I shot back. "That was no ghost I encountered in Fortuna. He's alive."_

_A knock at the door interrupted our exchange. "Yes what is it?" Carmen called out in a thoroughly irritated tone._

_The door opened and the youngest of the Seers, Micah seemed to float inside. She was no more than sixteen years old, the novice of the group. A violet hood covered her hair. All I could see were black curls poking out over a porcelain face._

"_Please forgive my intrusion Mistress Detrius." Her tone was hushed. "The master wants to see you at the round table."_

"_Very well Micah." She looked at me. "We'll talk about this later."_

_Micah looked at me suddenly. "Master also wants to see the little one also."_

"_Little one?" I narrowed my eyes._

"_I apologise but it is what the master calls you."_

"_Little one…you gotta be kidding me." I muttered. But Carmen held up a hand to silence me._

"_Tell Mr Giovanni we'll be along shortly."_

"_Yes mistress." She lowered her head and exited as quietly as she had entered."_

"_What a brat."_

"_Leave the kid alone, Alex. She's only doing what she's told."_

"_That's odd." I remarked. "Having sympathy for a seer are we?"_

"_She's not like the rest of them yet, Alex. She seems to be different from the others. Who knows this one might be half bearable."_

I opened my eyes. "Where are we?"

"We're nearly there Alex. You were really out of it for a while there."

I rubbed my eyes. "Was I asleep?"

"Like a log baby sister, like a log."

I looked out the window. Gray clouds covered the sky. The time on the digital clock above the CD player read 1.36 PM. But instead of the desert I had seen out my window before I closed my eyes was now replaced by the outskirts of a sprawling metropolis.

"Devil May Cry is supposed to be located in the backstreets in the northern part of town. From what we know it's going to be difficult to see this guy." I said while staring out the window, fascinated by the amazing architecture of the city.

"What's the plan?"

"Hmph. Don't really have one. Mr Giovanni was not able to provide that information."

"So what's he like?" Adrian asked.

I pondered over the question for a few moments. "Hard to say. I couldn't really see his face."

_The round table was as named, a replica of the round table from Camelot. It was exact down to the last detail. Apparently it was a creation of Mr Giovanni's. I had never seen it before tonight._

"_Be careful what you say in this room tonight, Alex." Carmen warned me. "It appears we will be joined by Yvanna. She is almost always at Mr Giovanni's side."_

"_The head of the seers." I whispered._

"_You and your brother make her nervous."_

"_Why?"_

"_You'll see soon enough."_

_The wide double doors to the conference room opened. Yvanna, cloaked in blood red, entered first. She stepped to the side and kneeled._

"_Master it is safe to enter."_

_That was the first time I had ever seen our leader. He was cloaked in white, his face hidden by a hood. He was tall in stature and seemed to irradiate power. He acknowledged both myself and Carmen._

"_Good evening Mistress Detrius." His voice was deep and resounding. "I apologise for summoning you so late but the events of tonight in Fortuna cannot be ignored."_

_He then turned his attention to me. "Little one; your name is Alexandra is it not?"_

"_Yes sir."_

"_Tell me what you saw tonight."_

_I glanced over at Yvanna. Her face stiffened and she refused to meet my stare. I looked directly at Mr Giovanni._

"_I was knocked down what appeared to be a demon. But when I looked again it was a man. I believed that tonight I may have seen Sparda's eldest son, Vergil._

_Yvanna gasped. "You lie! How could such a powerful being return from the grave without us knowing?"_

_Carmen laughed out loud. "You? Your seers haven't been able to see her path or her brother's for three years now. She has been in the darkness since she became a full time agent."_

"_And we're supposed to believe her?" Yvanna sneered. "What proof do you have?"_

"_This!" I placed the scrap of silk on the table. Yvanna grabbed it and closed her eyes. For the better part of two minutes she was completely still. Then she shook violently. Her eyes flew open._

"_Your words are true Agent McCann." The words sounded bitter. "The son of Sparda has returned. The question is why?"_

"_What was that Yvanna?" The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. "Your visions can't tell you?"_

"_Why you little bi-"_

"_Enough." Mr Giovanni commanded. "Alexandra, I am about to entrust you with a mission. Will you accept it?"_

"Hey I think this is it." Adrian said. I blinked. We were parked outside a brown building with large windows. There was a large red sign that said 'Devil May Cry'. I raised my eyebrows.

"What gave it away?"

He glared at me. "Just get on with it." I grinned and clipped my headset to my right ear.

I approached the double doors and peered inside. "I wonder if he's here." I pushed the doors open. The place appeared to be devoid of life. A jukebox sat in one corner behind a desk. Demon heads hung on the left wall. A cabinet full of weapons was on the right.

"Adrian, I don't think anyone's here."

I could hear him sighing. "I guess we'll have to come back later then. At least we can find a hotel and just chill out for a while."

"Give me another minute or so. I just want take a look around."

I wandered over to look at the weapons. They were varied in type and colour. A pair of ice blue nun chucks caught my eye.

"They're beautiful aren't they?"

At once my gun was drawn.

"Wow. I've never seen a woman draw a gun that fast." The stranger commented with a grin. "Considering that you're a stranger in my home, I'm the one who should be on the defensive."

"Are you Dante, son of Sparda?" I demanded. Of course he was. He was almost identical to his brother, yet there was something different about him. It wasn't the way that his silver white hair flopped loosely about his head or that his pale face carried a five o'clock shadow. There was something else. He was casually dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt.

He laughed. "Who wants to know?"

"The STIGMA organisation."

"Never heard of them."

"You wouldn't have. But that's not the point. We need your help."

"What makes you think I'm the type to help some shadow organisation?" He started walking towards me, trying to corner me.

"I think if you listen to what I have to say then you will. You will be well paid for this". I replied.

"Tell you what kid." Dante strolled over to his desk and pulled out a sword. "If you can stand against me in combat for more than two minutes I'll accept your offer. If not I'll just kick you out."

"Alex, don't do this." Adrian pleaded with me over the open channel. I ignored him, switched off the comm. and threw the headset to one side. Very slowly I unsheathed a blood red katana; a gift from Mr Giovanni.

"Wanna play?"

Faster than I could see his blade was swinging towards my head. I ducked and landed a kick right to his midsection. But instead of falling backwards like most of my victims, he merely just stuttered backwards.

Dante whistled. "Not bad."

"And I'm only just getting warmed up." I warned. I slid to the ground and knocked him down with a water kick. I jumped to my knees and pointed my blade at his throat.

"That's quite an impressive blade you've got sweetheart," He knocked away my katana with his sword and seemed to fly to his feet.

"Well thank you." I somersaulted backwards to avoid a slice at my stomach.

"Where did you get it?" Blows were continually exchanged and the sword of metal clanging seemed to cease.

"A gift from the boss." I sidestepped as Dante threw a punch and responded with a head butt. "Apparently the steel is blended with mythrill. It's supposedly indestructible."

"Ow, jeez. Girls aren't supposed to head butt!" He snapped. "Has it been two minutes already? You're going to bruise my face lady."

I shrugged. "You could just let me talk or I could go back to messing up your pretty face."

Dante sighed. "Whatever. Sit down and start talking. But you haven't beaten me. We'll settle this some other time."

I laughed and sat down on the leather couch. Dante wandered out to the back of the room and reached behind his desk.

He came back with a few cans in his hands. "Beer or tomato juice?"

"Um…tomato juice please."

"What's your name babe?"

"It's Alex; Alex McCann. I'm a paranormal investigator for the STIGMA organisation."

"What like on the X-Files? Didn't know nerds like them could fight as well as you?"

I rolled my eyes and opened my tomato juice.

Dante opened his beer with a snap hiss. "Well that tells me who you are but not why you're here." He took a sip. "So what's the story?"

"_Everyone in that room stared directly at me, waiting for my answer._

"_Yes sir. What do you want me to do?"_

_Mr Giovanni took a seat at the round table. "An hour after you left Fortuna, there reports of attacks in the small village of Midas which is south of Fortuna. Our agents in that area reported seeing a demon with wings. There were no fatalities but it is a concern."_

"_You think its Vergil, don't you?" I dared to ask him. For a brief moment when he lifted his head to answer me I could see a glimpse of his face and for a split second I thought I saw a shadow of pain come over his pale features._

"_That seems to be the most plausible theory." No trace of emotion was in his voice. "Cleaning crews are already on their way there to remove all traces and to help with the witnesses. You however will begin an investigation to find Vergil Sparda and learn how it was he able to return from the dead. You will need to take these weapons with you." He placed a red katana on the table and a black box._

_I opened the box. Inside it was lined with purple velvet which housed a black semi-automatic revolver; the handle was decorated with silver glyphs._

"_Its name is Diabolique. Its ammo is infused with Holy. The cartridge will never run out of bullets._

_I picked up the gun and cocked it. "Where should I start?_

"_With Sparda's other son, the devil hunter Dante."_

"Well?"

I looked at Dante. "Your brother's alive."

**Author's note: Well here we are at the end of chapter 3. The next chapter may be a little bit longer as I have a project due soon and an exam coming up for college.**

**I wrote some of this while listening to 'Red Fraction' By Mell which is the theme song for the anime Black Lagoon. Try to get a copy of it. It's good stuff. I think it should be Alex's battle theme.**

**Devilrebel – Once again, thanks for posting a review. I'll try to keep it interesting for you.**

**Next chapter: Devils…Monsters...**


	4. Devils, Monsters

**STIGMA**

**Chapter 4: Devils…Monsters…**

"Bullshit!" Dante snapped.

"It's not." I said in a quiet voice. "Two night's ago he was found in Fortuna. He flew away before I could investigate further."

He stood up and walked away. Then he turned around. "My brother exploded in a shower of dust in front of my eyes. There's no way he could be alive. Even for a son of Sparda." He ran his hand through his hair. "Do you have any proof of this?"

I nodded. "At the time I was wearing a personal recorder. It's standard issue for all STIGMA agents. My superiors anticipated your reaction and asked that I bring the video evidence with me. If you wait a few minutes I'll go get my notebook from my car."

As I turned to face the door a dark shadow came towards the windows, getting bigger and bigger. Time seemed to stop as my land rover shattered through the entrance of Devil May Cry. All I could do was watch in amazement as it came flying towards me.

The next thing I knew I was on the ground with Dante pinning me down protectively as my now totalled vehicle which was sliding on the passenger side came to a sudden stop less than a metre from us.

"Are you alright?" He asked me. I nodded. Then my eyes grew wide. "Adrian! Oh god, Adrian!"

I pushed Dante off me and ran to the car. "Bro, are you in there?"

"Jesus Christ." I heard him groan. "What the fuck just happened?"

I sighed with relief. "Dante, can you help me get him out?"

"Yeah I'm coming." I watched as he jumped up onto the driver side and ripped the door off."

"Hang in there, Adrian. How do you feel?"

"Like someone just threw me and my car through the front entrance of a building."

I heard Dante snicker. "Okay dude. Does anything feel broken?"

Adrian groaned loudly. "I think a few of my ribs got crushed and my right leg might be broken. But other than that I feel okay."

"Hold on. I'm about to rip you free."

Very gently he managed to lift my brother out and jumped down.

"We should get him to a doctor." I said while Dante placed him on the couch that had miraculously managed to escape the carnage.

"I agree." He said. He then walked back to his desk, grabbed his sword and two guns. "But I think we should take care of our friends out there first."

"What?"

"Bring that pretty sword of yours. Oh and now would be the time to use those guns you're packing too." He casually strolled out what was left of the entrance to his office."

"Adrian, what's going on?"

He grinned weakly. "There's a bunch of scarecrows having a party out there."

I rolled my eyes. "You got your ass kicked by scarecrows?"

"Actually our car did. I just happened to be inside it at the time."

"Whatever. Just stay here and try not to die."

"I love you too sis." I heard him say as I ran out the front. Sure enough about fifteen scarecrows waited for us. Half of the street was now on fire. Shattered glass was everywhere. Any car that had been parked on the side of the road had been destroyed, turned over or been thrown through the sides of buildings.

"So how would you approach this?" I asked Dante. He was perched on top of an overturned car."

"Well I would firstly take out the closest target." He fired a few shots and two scarecrows inside a burning building. I raised Diabolique and obliterated a scarecrow that was maiming a trashcan.

"And then?"

"I'd go on an Uma Thurman Kill Bill Bonanza." He grinned at me. "You've got your samurai sword so you'll look a hell of a lot cooler."

I smirked while putting my white ipod headphones on and hitting play on Red Fraction. "First to kill the most gets a free drink from the loser."

"You're on!"

_I have a big gun_

_I took it from my Lord_

I unsheathed my katana and ran headfirst into the nearest group of Scarecrows. I took the heads off three of them and finished the rest with Diabolique.

_I'm your angel_

_Only a ring away_

"That's right bitches! Go to hell!"

_You make me violate you_

_No matter who you are_

"Alex, move!" I looked up just in time to see Dante leaping over me chasing another demon. I rolled to the side. As they both landed Dante brought his sword right down the middle of the demon, cutting it in half. Slime splashed onto my jeans.

"Eww."

"That's why you need leather pants, babe. They're so much easier to keep clean."

I was then knocked down from behind. A scarecrow had it's blade about two centimetres from my face. "I'll keep that in mind." My voice was strained. My right hand was able to grasp the blunt edge of the blade and use it as leverage to pull the demon over my shoulder.

_No need to think about it_

_You do it or you die_

The last thing that scarecrow saw was my katana coming at its face as I split him in two.

_Light up the fire_

_Right on the power_

_Weapon... I have it all_

More gunshots echoed off a car in the far end of the street. It then exploded as Dante managed to hit the gas tank. The screams of lesser demons rang throughout the surrounding area.

"Well that's about all of them."

"You've killed them all already?" Dante only smirked.

"You're pretty good for a human but I'm not entirely human myself."

"Good point." I sat onto the ground looking at the mess my black jeans and white t-shirt had become and shook my head in frustration. "Not only did those damn bastards mess up my clothes but they also destroyed my car and laptop which also means any proof I had to show you is gone too."

When Dante didn't respond I looked up. "Is there a reason you're not saying anything?"

He was starring up at the sky, his pale face frozen in horror. "Alex, I don't think you're going to need your laptop anymore."

**Author's note: Well this didn't take as long to write as I thought. Probably because I finished the bulk of my college work quicker than I thought I would.**

**The next chapter may take more time as I have an exam coming up soon so please be patient with me.**

**Next chapter: Perchance to dream**


	5. Perchance to Dream

**STIGMA**

**Chapter 5: Perchance to dream**

"Alex, I don't think you're going to need your laptop anymore."

My eyes were drawn to the sky but what I saw made my heart pound heavily in my head.

"It's him." My voice was but a whisper. Sure enough, Vergil Sparda in demon form hovered at least twenty metres from above us. For what seemed like an eternity we seemed to stare each other down. Then his wings took full span and he flew away in a southerly direction

"He must have summoned the scarecrows here." I blinked and remembered my task. "Dante please take care of my brother. I'm going after yours." I started running after him, making sure I kept him in sight.

"YOU CRAZY BITCH! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" I could hear Dante screaming after me. But I kept running. I could still see Vergil. There was no way in hell I was going to let him get away this time.

The streets passed by me in a whirlwind. It was if they were moving and not me sprinting so quickly. I had lost track of how away I was from my brother, Dante and Devil May Cry. But I wouldn't stop now. I couldn't.

Then he just vanished. I swore loudly.

"That's just convenient."

A rush of wind hit me from the back and I was pulled into the sky by an unseen force. The ground became further and further away until the city was becoming smaller under my gaze. Then I started falling towards a rooftop. I hit the pavement with a massive thud. Pain shot right through my ribs, my forearms, my right cheek and my thighs.

I struggled to breathe. The wind had been knocked right out of me. Every breath was painful. I barely noticed as a pair of white feet calloused with blisters and red wounds landed in front of me.

"For all the humans I've fought over the years you're one of the less pathetic ones I've seen. Most men would have been dead after a landing like that." A voice laced with frost, arrogance and a touch of sneering danced around my ears. My eyes were seeing black spots. I coughed and spat out blood onto the pavement.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm not a man." I struggled to get to my feet, gun in hand. "Women have a naturally higher pain threshold. And well I'm used to this sort of treatment."

I stared at the human visage of the so-called evil twin. His black leather pants were ragged and his shirt was now gone. I could see now the difference between Vergil and Dante. There was no spark of amusement in those ice blue eyes, no boyishness in that unearthly face and no humanity either. This was truly only a demon trapped in human form and loathing every second of it.

"Do you find me handsome?" He sneered.

I scoffed and instantly regretted the movement as my ribs screamed in pain. "I've met many an incubus far more attractive than you. Death by their means is considerably much more appealing. But never mind that. I didn't come here to start a fight. I'm only here to find out how it is you are alive."

"So I take it our little encounter in the church didn't leave you…oh how do you human females say, breathless?"

"Well you did knock the wind out of me but hey that happens when someone pushes you really hard." Talking was becoming increasingly painful. "But enough with the shit talking. How did you return from the grave?"

He laughed loudly. "That Alexandra is something I'd like to ask you?

"How do you know my name?"

Vergil never answered. Instead the skies grew darker around me and the man was gone again. The creature screamed and the sound of it was hideous. It was if instruments from an poorly tuned orchestra were playing and crows were screaming.

A long shard of dark matter formed in Vergil's hand. It hardened like glass. He looked straight into my eyes. His mouth moved but I couldn't understand what he was saying.

"Alex….der….ove…..way"

Reality changed for me in that second. It was as if I was no longer there but watching the events as if I were viewing a movie. The shard of dark matter flew towards me. I was unable to move and to prevent it from lodging into my chest cavity. So this was how it would end.

I fell backwards and time slowed to almost a halt. My mother's face appeared before me. Her visage was clearer than any memory I had of her. Her long hair framed her lovely face. Tears were falling from her cinnamon eyes. Her mouth was moving but I could not hear what her words were.

_Mother…I've missed you._

She pointed to what appeared to be a flickering blue line that protruded from my body and that went all the way back to the rooftop.

"I don't…understand." But it appeared to be too late for me. Darkness started closing in.

_So this is what death is like_ I thought. The warmth of the darkness had almost completely enveloped me. Strong hands cradled me and I could see a shadow of wings. It appeared I would be taken away by angels. My last thoughts echoed through my head.

_Adrian, I'm sorry. Mother, I'll see you soon._

Then, the world was no more.

**Author's note: Well it appeared I had time for another chapter. Okay I just don't want to study.**

**A cliff hanger!!! Will the story continue? Okay it will.**

**The chapter is short but it was supposed to be.**

**Devilrebel: Sorry for forgetting but again thanks for your review.**

**Comments, reviews etc are welcome**

**Next chapter: Breath**


	6. Breath

**STIGMA**

**Chapter 6: Breath**

"_Helena, take the kids and run. I'll hold them off."_

"_DANIEL!"_

A woman screamed in the dark. A sound of fumbling keys and the sound of a failing car engine echoed around me.

_Where am I?_

"Hey I think she's coming around." A very familiar voice said from what sounded like a few metres away.

My eyes opened. Adrian stood over me in a cream coloured room. He seemed to be in better condition than for someone who had been in a crashing car.

"How do you feel little sis?"

I tried to sit up but was immediately thwarted in my plan by a sharp pain in the chest.

"Hey steady there. You've been through a lot. Don't try to move okay."

I crashed back onto the bed and noticed that I was wearing a cream coloured cotton nightdress. "What the hell happened?"

Adrian sat on the bed. "You as per usual ran off to chase the monsters without any back up. If it weren't for Vergil you'd be dead right now."

"Vergil?" I tried to ease myself into a sitting position very slowly. Adrian rolled his eyes and helped me up. "That motherfucker tried to kill me."

"Actually that's not true." Dante sat in a chair on the other side of the room. "I got the whole thing on video using that handy little headset you have. My bro was trying to kill the thing that was behind you. You just happened to get in the way."

"What happened after that?"

You fell and Vergil caught you. Then he brought you here. You're very lucky to be alive. You had several broken bones and internal wounds that were being poisoned by dark matter. I've never seen a human survive the severity of injuries you had."

I pulled the bandage over my ribs down a little to see an ugly scar in the middle of my ribs. So that hadn't been an angel that was taking me to heaven. I felt a little disappointed.

"Where's Vergil now?"

"He's in the other room resting." Adrian answered. "It's strange. The healer nearly lost you about five times. All five times Vergil seemed to suffer as well. It was as if he was feeling your pain."

"I want to talk to him. And where are we?

"You're in my home." An elderly African woman dressed in blue healers robes stood at the entrance to the room. Her long white hair was braided and pulled back in a ponytail.

"Alex, this is Teisha. She's one of the very few true healers left."

"Thank you for saving me."

"You are kind but I doubt the reason you are still alive is completely because of my efforts. Broken bones I can heal in the blink of an eye but your chest wound was not my work."

"I don't understand."

She walked further into the room and extended her hand. "Come with me and I will show you."

"Teisha, she should rest." Dante protested.

"She has been asleep long enough. Her legs must ache for some walking."

I took her hand and she led me out of the bedroom and down the halls to another room. She opened the door. Vergil Sparda lay asleep in the blue painted room. A large intricately shaped charm was around his neck. It was a combination of a cross and a pentacle. I sat beside him and fingered it in my hands.

"It's to keep him from changing." Teisha's thick accented voice seemed to float across the room. "Otherwise healing him would have been catastrophic."

"What happened to him?"

She shook her snow covered head. "I'm not entirely sure. But I believe he may have tethered you to this plane of existence and kept you with us."

"How?"

"There is a constant flow of energy between the two of you. I'm surprised neither of you noticed earlier. Somehow you share each other's life forces. Every time you faded away there would be a massive surge from him and you would come back to us. But not without a cost to the son of Sparda."

I gazed over the sleeping hybrid. In sleep he seemed so serene. There was none of the arrogance, hatred or anger that he carried while awake. His white hair had lost its spikiness and flopped over his forehead, making him look more like his twin brother. His bare arms lay by his side.

"Are you saying I could be part demon now?"

"No I do not think so. Only life is shared; not your species."

"Will he recover?"

"I do not know. But perhaps now that you have recovered yourself, you may be able to help him."

"I'm not sure if I want to do that."

She laughed quietly. "You may not have a choice. I have never seen this before between a human and a demon, even with a human hybrid. This should not even be possible. But somehow you resurrected him and he kept you alive. It sounds like a fair trade to me."

I stood up to stretch. "Have you known the twins for long?"

Teisha turned to leave. "Since they were little boys." Then she left me with him. I shook my head and sighed. I looked down upon him once more.

"Who are you Vergil and just what have I gotten myself involved with?"

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I wandered back to my room. When I got back there, I saw that my things had been brought up. My backpack and the metal case I had brought along with me were next to the bed along with my brown leather jacket. On the bed were two shopping bags attached with a note.

Hey babe

Since your other clothes are totalled, I took the liberty of buying you some new ones. You can thank (and pay) me later.

Dante

I lifted out of the first bag a red t-shirt. Pretty standard but not bad. The second bag however surprised me.

"Black leather pants?" I wondered out loud.

"Go ahead try them on." I didn't even have to turn around to know that Dante was grinning like a Cheshire cat. But I had to laugh.

"I'm not taking my clothes off in front of you Dante." He put up his hands in defence.

"Hey you can't blame a guy for trying."

I picked up the metal case. "This is your payment; fifty grand. Plus I'll be organising to replace your shopfront."

"You know I didn't really do anything."

"My boss is loaded. Trust me just take it. I doubt he'll miss it." Dante accepted the case. I pushed the door shut.

"By the way can I get my headset back? I'd like to see that footage you took."

He fished the recorder out of his jacket pocket and handled it to me. I extended the viewing square and fiddled with the small buttons on top of it. The screen flickered and came to life. The first image was of Dante's face.

"You can skip that." He said while looking embarrassed. "I was just trying to figure out how it worked.

"Hello is this thing on?"

I snickered.

"Hey I said you could skip."

"Sorry. Couldn't resist." I hit fast forward. About a second later it cut to footage of the street. It appeared Dante had been chasing me down the street from the shakiness in the image.

"You might want to skip a bit here too. I was running for about few minutes there."

Finally after a few seconds of skipping ahead I pressed play. I could see a miniature version of me yelling out German curses, courtesy of Carmen's upbringing. A massive shadow had come from behind me and had been the one to drop me onto the rooftop where I had almost met my end.

The view changed as Dante must have looked up to the rooftop. After about a minute, the shadow appeared again behind me but this time it took on solid form. From the tiny image, it seemed to resemble a creature that was half raven, half man.

"Dante, have you ever seen anything like this before?"

He shook his head. "No but it does look like something out of my father's books."

I then watched as I fell from the rooftop but it seemed like time hadn't slowed down for me. I shivered watching what had been almost my own demise.

The creature flew off and as the image of my body came closer to hitting the ground, a blur of blue flew down under me and caught me.

"He seemed determined to save you." Dante commented.

My expression was quizzical. "Why? He doesn't even know me."

The door flew open. Vergil Sparda hobbled in; still shirtless, but regardless human.

"Because you saved me."

**Author's note: Well we reach the end of another chapter. The next one might not be out for another week due to my own commitments.**

**Devilrebel: Thanks again for reviewing.**

**Next chapter: Dust & Echoes.**


	7. Dust & Echoes Part 1

**STIGMA**

**Chapter 7: Dust & Echoes Part 1**

""Why? He doesn't even know me."

The door flew open. Vergil Sparda hobbled in; still shirtless, but regardless human.

"Because you saved me."

For what seemed like an eternity I just stared at him, too dumbfounded to actually say anything. Truthfully I wasn't sure what to say to him. Nothing intelligent or relevant came to mind.

"Brother, may I have a moment alone with Alexandra?"

"Whatever Verge. Just try not to kill her this time."

Vergil didn't respond to his brother's comment as Dante exited the room, shutting the door behind him.

"I suppose I should thank you for resurrecting me but that would imply that you did it intentionally when in actual fact it was nothing more than an accident just as my life force served as a buffer between life and death while Teisha managed to heal your wounds."

I instantly became annoyed with his presumptuous tone. "Look we're both alive because of each other. I don't know why but our lives seem to be tied together. I'm not any happier about this but there might be a reason behind it. It could be connected to why that thing came after us."

"You're saying this is a matter of circumstance, not fate?"

"I don't believe in fate."

He laughed bitterly. "You don't seem to be surprised by demons and those who can return from the dead but you won't believe in fate?"

"That's none of your business." I spat back. "It's also irrelevant."

"And you're the girl who brought me back. How ridiculous that you cannot believe there is some higher power at work here." He cast a spiteful glare down on me,"

"Why do you believe in it?" I narrowed my eyes, refusing to be intimidated. "What makes you so sure of it?"

Vergil sat down on the bed. Scars decorated his pale arms, his torso and his neck. But strangely his face had been left untouched.

"I wandered in the shadows for what seemed like an eternity. Time was neither here nor there. In truth I did not exist, I was simply just a bundle of thoughts and memories that was there. I brushed against the minds of others both alive and dead. Everything was meaningless at least until my mind brushed against yours. You seemed different. There was a lifeline to you which drew me in. But you wouldn't remember that would you?"

I shivered. He had spoken of a nightmare I had once had in which I had been trapped in a place of darkness. It was from two years ago but had stayed with me ever since.

"My nightmare."

"Yes but I had not meant to cause you fear or alarm. I only exchanged a piece of memory from my mind with yours so I could find what I could about you. I found your name…Alexandra. It was the first coherent thing I had heard I during a time of madness. It was an anchor for me back to reality."

He paused. "I held onto your name for so long. So when you entered that church, all I had to do was to cling to what seemed to be a tie to your life force and there I was, alive and whole."

"So why did you attack me?"

He shrugged. "It appears my demon half was the first to come back. It just reacted out of instinct to what it considered to be an unknown situation."

"I see." I pulled up a chair that was sitting next to the window where sunlight and fresh air flowed in. "What else did you find inside my head?"

"There's a black space within a corner of you. Tell me, do you have any gaps in your memories?"

I nodded. "I can't remember much from before I was eight, before my parents died. All I can remember is my mother's face. But I know nothing about how they died or what their names were. All I can see is a void. But that's not important. What about that thing that attacked us? Do you have any idea of what it is?"

"It looked like something out of a story my father would read to us, Dante and I."

"Dante said the same thing. Do you have anything of your father's left that could help us?"

"No I don't. But the house where we all lived as a family still stands or at least it did the last time I was alive. Dante would probably know."

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"So how do we know this place hasn't been ransacked or pillaged?" Adrian asked Dante. We sat in Teisha's living room on cushions around a small wooden table that had a large ivory teapot filled with Chai and four cups. A road map sat in front of my brother.

Dante had bought some new clothes for Vergil. He was dressed in black leather pants, a midnight blue silk shirt and a pair of Italian boots. He had showered and managed to find some hair product to spike his hair. Once again he looked cold, aloof and untouchable.

Dante shook his head and sipped some Chai. "I've been there at least once a month for the last few years. The place hasn't been touched by anyone or anything except the passage of time. The local residents won't even approach the front door. They all think it's haunted. I'm not surprised though. It's where our mother was killed."

"And you think there are some of your father's personal effects still there?" I asked.

"There were things that mother kept hidden away." Dante replied. "I guess after he disappeared there was a lot that just caused more anguish for her than they were worth but she probably knew we'd want one day. There was a large chest in our basement that was sealed with a spell. That part might be a little bit difficult."

"There are witches that work for our organisation who might be able to help with that." Adrian offered. "We can get them on the phone when we get there if there's any difficulty." Upon seeing the look of mild anger on Vergil's face. "We'll be discreet. There will be no mention of whose belongings they are."

"Thank you."

"We'll have to drive for about an hour to get there." Adrian said while looking at the map. But we'll have to look for a new mode of transportation. I'm about to call my land rover dead and buried. Is there anywhere we can hire a car?"

"I have a better idea." Dante sprung to his feet. "Can any of you ride a bike?"

I couldn't hold myself back. "I can!"

"Alex, no!" Adrian protested.

"Adrian, go screw yourself. Dante, what have you got in mind?"

"Verge and your brother can take my two seater and you and I can go have some fun."

I eyed him slyly. "What kind of fun?"

He grinned. "Come back to my office and I'll show you?"

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As Dante and I approached Devil May Cry I could see he had hung some tarps under the gaping hole where my car had crashed through it. He pushed the tarp aside as we both entered. He continued to towards the back but I just stopped and stared at the damage.

"Don't worry about it."

I turned to face him. "I know. I just feel kind of responsible."

"Come on. You're not going to feel like moping in a few short seconds." He grabbed my hand and pulled me out back past his desk and through a door. It was completely dark. Dante disappeared into the black and then I heard the flick of a switch.

"Alex, meet my two beauties, Vixen and Raven."

I suddenly morphed into an eight year old girl who had just received her first Barbie Dream House.

"Holy shit." I breathed. Two beautiful motorbikes, one red, one black sat gleaming in what looked like a garage. They looked incredibly fast, dangerous and expensive.

"Vixen is a Ducati 1098. From what I understand it's quite heavily modelled on the 998."

"Horizontally placed headlights, non-integrated exhaust system, single-sided swing arm. Its top speed is 186 miles per hour. It goes from 0 to 60 in 2.5 seconds." I interrupted." Dante gave a low whistle.

"I've wanted a Ducati since I could ride but I could never afford it."

"Raven over here is a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14, otherwise known as ZZR1400. This was the 2007 model when the Diablo black paint finish was used."

"This is a racing bike." I locked eyes on him. "Even the best bike racers have trouble handling this. You've gotta be super human to…oh, right I forgot."

Dante laughed. "It's been a while since someone forgot I wasn't entirely human."

"Which one can I ride?"

He shrugged. "Pick whichever one you want but personally I think Vixen suits you more. The engine speed is about the same as the Ninja so you shouldn't have any trouble keeping up."

"Why do you have such powerful bikes? More importantly these are expensive, not only to buy but to maintain as well."

"Raven was a gift from a very grateful client."

"And Vixen?"

Dane shifted his eyes left and right.

I narrowed my eyes. "You look guilty."

"Tell you what; if we both survive this whole ordeal then you can buy me several rounds of beer and then I'll be drunk enough to let you in on the whole deal."

"You got a deal."

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"Okay guys, we're leaving soon." I said to Adrian through our headsets. We were parked on the road out of the city. "How's the patient?"

"He's fine, just quiet." I looked behind me. Vergil and my brother sat in the front of a blue 1996 Pontiac Firebird Formula. Adrian was grinning from ear to ear. Whereas I had always loved bikes, he had always wanted to get behind the wheel of a Firebird. Vergil looked like he always did, emotionless and bored. He then said something unintelligible to my brother.

"Vergil said if you beat Dante there he'll give you something special."

I snickered. "Tell him he's on." I revved up the engine next to Dante. "Are you ready to get started?"

Dante fiddled with his sunglasses and adjusted the settings on his headset to hear me more clearly. We had managed to find him a spare one that was working within the wreckage of the land rover. I could see the challenge in his eyes as he ignited the engine on Raven. "Bring it."

"Okay. Rules are no cheating, no flashing anyone with your exhaust, no weapons and no supernatural abilities."

"Define cheating."

"Do I have to?"

"Point taken." Dante fitted his helmet over his platinum covered head.

"Okay. 3, 2, 1 GO!"

The force of the speed hit me as I accelerated the bike to half speed. The wind was at our backs and pushed me further on. I no longer passed the road ahead but seemed to become it.

"Try not to open her up to full throttle yet." I could hear Dante say. He came through crackling and filled with static.

"Trying to win are we?" I swerved to dodge a car. At this point we were keeping at an even speed.

"I'm trying to keep you alive so I can have the pleasure of beating you there."

"Fair enough."

"Once you open up full throttle then it's on. But it won't be just speed that will win this."

"I know." Vixen was a dream to handle. Not only was she powerful but the control was amazing.

I increased the speed up to nearly the top.

"You ready?"

Dante scoffed so loudly it made my right ear hurt. "I've been ready since we started."

"Whatever jack ass. See you at the finish line!"

Now we were both at our top speeds, keeping neck and neck. Speed wouldn't win this race alone. Something would tip the scales at some point. One of us would either mess up a turn or some other unknown factor would make one of us lose and the other win.

"Alex," Adrian's voice crackled through; the increasing distance between us had weakened our signal. The headsets were not designed for long distance without assistance from cellular phone signal towers. "Vergil thinks there's something coming."

I looked ahead into the distance. "I can't see anything. Dante?"

"I sense it too. There's about ten or more lesser demons roughly one 500 meters ahead."

"We'll try to take them out bro. In the meantime try to keep up with us. It'll be hard to maintain communication with the range on our radios."

"I'm sorry…how fast is your Ducati?"

"Hey I'm just trying to help. I'll don't think we'll be racing once we start fighting."

"I thought all girls could multitask, McCann." I could practically hear the smirk in Dante's voice.

"Just trying to be accommodating for your manly one track mind; son of Sparda."

"Heads up here they come." I could hear Vergil yelling.

A swam of Beezelbubs descended upon us. I swerved so quickly while applying the brakes that the wheels burned out on the road.

"WATCH MY FUCKING TYRES!" Dante snapped at me while firing Ebony and knocking two of the demons out of the sky while another swooped at him. "Do you have any idea how much it costs to maintain a Ducati?"

"Add it to my bill!" I retorted. I ducked my head and shot another one out of the sky.

"Oh forget it! Now watch this!" Dante sped up once again. He was heading towards a sedan the demons had partially destroyed and turned over. Raven drove over it as if it were a ramp and went sailing into the air. He whipped out both guns in a crucifix fashion and fired at the creatures coming at him from either side.

"Using levitation spells are we Dante?" I yelled as he used his body strength to whip the bike around and take out the Beelzebubs surrounding him.

"I think somebody's jealous that they can't pull off a cool trick like that."

"Alexandra, its Vergil." I raised my eyebrows and started laughing as I could hear Adrian protesting the loss of his headset.

"What up Devil boy?"

"I have something that will top the little display my brother just performed but it will require your trust."

I scoffed. "And you think I'm willing to give that?"

"It's not I can kill you now can I?"

"Fair enough. What do you have in mind?"

"I want to use our link to project my powers through you."

"I don't think so, son of Sparda. I still have a mental scar from the last time you were inside my head."

"Please allow me to do this. I have far more control this time. I will not cause you any harm."

I ducked my head as a demon's claws came towards my face. "Alright. Go ahead."

"This may feel a little strange."

A little was an understatement. The world grew dark but I could still see. Lines of blue flowed out from me and back towards the car. Another line flowed into me. This blue was crackling faintly with electricity. This must have been the tie Teisha spoke of.

The electricity grew stronger. Every part of my body tingled with what felt like power, demonic power.

"Alexandra, how do you feel?"

If I could have shrugged I would have. "Fine, just a little tingly."

"I am about to force a spell through you. It may have some temporary side effects."

"Like what?" But he never answered. Instead the world faded away and I found myself once more inside his mind.

_A little girl cried. She was about five years old and wearing a green dress. Her brown hair was tied back in pigtails. Her right wrist was bleeding_

"_Vergil, it hurts it hurts." A little boy with shorn silver hair kissed her cheek._

"_Do you feel better? Mom always does that for Dante when he scrapes his knee."_

_Where am I?_

"Alex, are you okay?" Dante's voice rang loud in my ear. I blinked. I had stopped. The bike was parked on the side of the road. All around me were the burnt corpses of demons that were still smoldering with gray smoke.

"I'm fine. What happened?"

"Vergil took the demons out with a fire spell but it was done through you. I've never seen any human be able to survive something like that before."

My right wrist was throbbing. I took my glove off. I had about four scars on my wrist. Three of them were from training but there was one right near my veins at the top of my wrist that I had gotten before since I could remember. It was hurting and looking red and angry.

"Come on Alex, we're nearly there."

"Yeah I'm coming.'

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We arrived at the house in the town of Segovia not long after that. The house was located not from the town entrance and was two stories high. The white paint was cracked and peeled. There were ruins of a picket fence and the grass on the lawn was dead due to lack of care. The windows had been boarded up and the shutters were banging against the outer walls of the house.

It most likely wasn't haunted but what the residents were picking up on was probably an emotional imprint from a violent event, most likely the death of their twins' mother. Dust and echoes seemed to be everywhere in this place, echoes of a past long gone but never forgotten.

Vergil was still sitting in the car. Dante had parked Raven just behind him. Adrian and I sat on the steps waiting for them.

"How long do you think they'll stay there?" Adrian asked me.

I shrugged. "Beats me. Give them time. Dante's been here a lot but I imagine this would be pretty hard for Vergil."

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, just feeling a little strange." I stood up and stretched. "I think I got temporarily trapped inside Vergil's head. I stumbled across a memory of some sort."

"What kind of memory?"

"I'm not entirely sure. It was a little girl. I don't know who she was. But-"

I never finished my sentence. I was pushed against a wall with a reptilian hand against my throat. I struggled for air.

"What did you see?" Vergil hissed at me. His eyes were no longer human in appearance but now completely dark blue. "What did you see?"

Spots started dancing before my eyes as my lungs were screaming for oxygen. I could see Adrian trying to pull him off me. Dante was at my side in an instant trying to help me.

"How dare you pry inside my memories?"

I kicked him in the groin. He groaned and dropped me. I whipped out Diabolique from my holster and shot him once in the head and then four times in the chest. He fell to the ground. I coughed violently as I gasped for air

"I know that's not going to be enough to kill you but judging from your reaction it probably hurts like hell." For effect I shot him two more times.

"Now listen up bitch!" I snapped at him angrily. "You were the one who came up with the brilliant idea to run your abilities through me. You didn't even think of the consequences to me. I didn't get a choice about shit! And you have the audacity to accuse me of prying? Who the fuck do you think you are?"

"Children please, if I may?" Dante interrupted. Adrian tried to look at my throat. I brushed him off.

"Time is running short as whatever sent those demons is most likely the thing that nearly killed Alex before. I'm willing to bet it won't be long until it figures out where we are. So Vergil you play nice and try not to kill the nice lady who brought you back from the land of the dead. Alex, please put that gun away. Holy filled bullets hurt like a bitch, I should know."

"Of course you would know." Vergil muttered. "You've probably been shot by every woman you ever pissed off."

I raised my eyebrows.

Dante looked embarrassed "Yeah…never mind that. Let's go."

Vergil coughed up blood. The bullet in his head fell right out and the skin started healing itself. It was a bizarre sight as the blood vanished and skin knitted itself back together. However there were now holes in his new shirt. He pulled himself to his feet and glared at me.

"Watch yourself, human."

"You're human too you know."

He turned his back to me and started walking into the house. "Not by choice I assure you."

I sighed and glanced at Adrian. "This is going to be a really long day, isn't it?"

**Author's note: Whew. This one took ages. Been studying heaps and trying to finish this all at the same time.**

**Thanks again to Devilrebel for the review. All comments are appreciated**

**Next chapter: Dust & Echoes Part 2**


	8. Dust & Echoes Part 2

**STIGMA**

**Chapter 8: Dust & Echoes Part 2**

"What? No I don't speak Latin you idiot!" Adrian shouted into his cell phone. "I'm a cleaner, not a member of the coven. All we've got are some symbols that I can't read. No there are no blood stains on it."

The basement was nothing much to speak of. Apart from the chest, there was really nothing down there except for a light bulb and some old rust coloured carpet. Dante and I watched in amusement as my brother argued with one of STIGMA's warlocks. Vergil seemed to be searching to see if there was any clue to opening the massive blackchest. There was simply no lock but on the top which one would assume was the lid were symbols that were possibly Latin. This really didn't help considering no one in that basement spoke a word of it.

"What's a cleaner?" Dante asked me softly while we sat on the floor on the opposite wall.

I glanced at him briefly then continued to watch Adrian. "In STIGMA the word cleaner is short for Supernatural & Demonic Site Cleaners. Basically they remove all bodies and evidence so that we can investigate the event from every angle."

"He looks like he could handle himself pretty well in a fight." Dante commented.

"They're all like that." I replied. "They receive the same level of combat training that agents like me do as well as low level magic skills. It's so that they can defend themselves just in case what corpses they're removing aren't actually corpses. Truth be told; he's probably a better fighter than I am."

"You seem like you'd be more vicious in combat."

"Oh I am."

"ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME? I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU ARE I WILL COME AFTER YOU WITH A KNIFE!" Adrian was screaming now.

"Brother dear, is there something wrong?" I asked sweetly.

He closed the lid on his phone and shot me a look that suggested that he wanted to kill me. "They said that from what I've told them it's been sealed shut by a password and only the password could open the chest."

"That's typical." I muttered.

"Well why don't Alex and I go upstairs and search for clues?" Dante suggested. "You guys keep working. We'll see what we can find."

Adrian threw up his hands in frustration. "Whatever."

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When we got upstairs, Dante headed towards what was left of the kitchen. To my surprise there was a working fridge there.

"I'm guessing the only thing in that fridge isn't a clue." I remarked.

Dante grinned and pulled out a beer and a can of tomato juice. He threw the tomato juice to me.

"You suppose correctly."

I opened the juice and took a swig. "This stuff isn't half bad."

"Yeah but beer tastes better."

I sat down on an old green couch and took my jacket off. "Is this what you do when you come here?"

He feigned a hurt expression. "No I come here to make sure this place is still standing. It's where I grew up. I want to protect this place for as long as I can. But hey it's a long ride. I need something to chill out with afterwards."

"Have you ever tried to open the chest before?"

He shook his head. "It didn't seem right without Vergil around." He sat down on a cushion across from me. I suddenly felt guilty for what had happened on the porch.

"Sorry I shot him earlier."

Dante laughed hysterically for about a minute. I looked at him strangely.

"What's so funny?"

He calmed down a few seconds later. "Firstly he's half demon. He'll survive. Secondly and I don't know if you've noticed but my brother…well he's kind of an asshole. Quite frankly he deserved it. If I had my way I'd shoot him at least once an hour."

"Was he always like that?"

"Why?"

I shrugged. "In that memory I saw, he was a little boy. He seemed kind of sweet. There was a little girl there too. Did you know many children growing up?"

Dante thought for a moment. "Hmm…not really. My mother had only a few people she called friends. There was one couple with kids who used to come around a lot. I don't remember their names. I'm pretty sure the family was killed years ago."

I felt intrigued by this. "Do you know how?"

"I don't remember. I think I was around thirteen when it happened."

I frowned. Something about all this seemed strange to me. "Dante, how are you and Vergil?"

"I just turned thirty." He looked confused. "Why?"

"There's something about all this that seems familiar but I can't put my finger on it. Maybe it's something I read in an old case file." I stood up. "Do you mind if I go look around in your yard for a bit?"

"Knock yourself out. I'll take care of the upstairs bedrooms."

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The sun shined down on the dead grass as I wandered through the backyard. It was mid afternoon. The backyard was quite large. Outside the front door there was a barbeque area that was under cover. It then stretched out for a good sixty meters ahead. The area wasn't flat but led up into the hills behind the house. Three dead oak trees sat near the fence. If properly looked after, it would have made a good investment.

Nothing about the yard seemed to be out of the ordinary, unless you counted the lack of care. But then again I wasn't a witch or a psychic. I wouldn't have known anything different unless it was blindingly obvious.

I reached the halfway mark and decided to sit down. The house looked different from just roughly thirty meters away. I could see now how beautiful this place would have been once. No wonder Dante wanted to protect it.

I closed my eyes and tried to imagine the house as it once was. The cream paint with no cracks or peeling, the windows had curtains, the grass was green and lush and there was once a happy family living here.

There was laughter all around me; the laughter of children. A light breeze danced over me and the smell of flowers was everywhere.

"_Dante, come and play!"_

My eyes snapped open. Had that been my imagination? Or had I really heard a child's voice?

"_It hurts, it hurts,"_

The echoes grew louder. Flashes of someone else's memories danced in my eyes, people I had never met, words I had never heard.

"_Dante, go get Mom."_

"_I'll protect you,"_

I was suddenly becoming frightened. There was no way I could be hearing this. As far as I knew my supernatural abilities were non-existent.

"_It's our secret little one; this oak tree holds the key. You make sure you tell my boys that when they grow up."_

"Alexandra?"

I blinked. My head was in my hands. My heart was pounding. The yard was once again dead and empty except for me and Vergil who was staring at me with mild interest.

I tried to quickly regain my usual calm composure?"

"What is it?" I asked him

"What were you doing?"

I was at a loss for words to explain what I had just experienced. "I'm not entirely sure."

"Right."

I rolled my eyes. I shouldn't have been surprised that it wasn't concern for my wellbeing that he was expressing but I was. I made a mental note to remember that I was nothing more than 'just a human' to him. What would he care for my existence?

He continued to stare at me as I ran my right hand through my hair. His eyes narrowed in on my wrist.

"How did you get all those scars?"

"They were accidents. Well all of them except for this one." I indicated the one near my veins. "This one I don't remember at all. It's strange; you'd think that something like that would stay in my memory."

His voice was strange as he answered. "Yes it should." He seemed very pre-occupied with it.

"Why do you call me Alexandra? Everyone else just calls me Alex."

"It's what your mother named you didn't she?"

"Yeah but Alexandra makes me sound like I should be wearing a white dress and high heels. Alexandra isn't allowed to go splashing through mud, fire a gun or kill the filth of the underworld."

"And Alex is?"

"Of course. Vergil, my mother is dead. All I have left of her is an image of what she looked like. That memory gets more distant every year. I don't know who she is or if the person in my memories even existed. Who knows if this is my real name of something I was given by my first foster family."

"You had more than one?"

I grinned. "I was something of a problem child. I went through about four families. When I was sixteen I decided that the streets were a better place for me. I nearly got killed by a Vanguard. I would have died if Carmen hadn't showed up."

"Who's Carmen?" He sat down next to me.

"She's my boss. She took me in, taught me how to fight and made sure I went to school. I had planned on going to the police academy but she thought it would be a waste of my talents so when I was nineteen she arranged for me to enter the STIGMA organization. It wasn't easy. I had to pass three written exams and a combat exercise."

"What about Adrian?"

"We've never really talked about it. I don't really know how he ended up at STIGMA but as soon as I saw him I knew it was him."

"And from there?"

I shrugged. "Weapon training, martial arts, investigative and police training and lectures on everything & anything to do with the underworld. There's a whole library full of scientists and analysts dedicated to the research of the underworld. They'd love to get their hands on you."

It was starting to become slightly windy but the sun kept shining. Perhaps leaving my jacket inside wasn't such a good idea.

"If I hurt you I'm sorry."

Something about his words made me smile. "I'm sorry I shot you six times. But then again I doubt you would have let me die."

"True but Alexandra…I mean Alex, I have to ask you again, what were you doing before I came out here?" His face had hardened. His eyes suggested he would not leave without an answer.

"I'm not sure if I could explain but I think being inside your head did something to me. I think I was seeing your memories of this place." I turned my head to the dead oak trees. "And there's something about those trees." I jumped to my feet and ran to them.

"There's a secret here." I yelled as I searched through them. "Something that's hidden. I just need to figure out what it is. It's gotta be the key to opening that chest."

"What are you talking about?"

"I heard a voice saying I should tell you and Dante that the oak trees are the key. At least I think it was about you and Dante."

They all seemed to look the same except for the one of the end. There was large black circular splotch at its base. It was the same colour and texture as the chest.

"Black oak." I whispered. "I remember one of my lecturer's telling me that devil's blood can hold messages but unless you've got something to store it in, the message will fade. Trees are the most effective ways of storing devil's blood. It taints the tree but it protects the message. That chest is made out of tainted oak!"

Without looking away, I called out "Vergil, can you get my sword or something sharp?"

"Will this do?" He had used his devil trigger to change his hand. Long claws extended out. I stared at his hand for a few seconds.

"Yeah…that'll work." I watched as he used the claws to slice the tainted section out of the tree and placed it onto the ground."

"How does this work?" Vergil asked.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"We don't know everything about the united demon postal service, Vergil." I snapped. "If anything I would have thought you would know!"

"Yeah well I guess my father forgot to give me that little detail!" I gasped.

"What?"

"The voice wasn't male it was a woman. It might have been your mom. She locked the chest but she left a clue that only you and brother would know how to read. What is it about the oak tree that she would have thought you would know?"

There was something in his eyes that looked strangely like nostalgia as he picked up the chunk of oak. Could demons get nostalgic?

"Is there something wrong?" I asked him.

He simply stared off into the distance. "Lariska; that's the password." He started running back to the house."

"Huh?" I watched him running down the hill at an inhuman speed with a puzzled expression on my face. "Who the hell is Lariska?" I started to follow him back. I ran down the hill but managed to trip on the way down.

"Oh come on." I muttered looking at now my slightly bleeding palm. "Could this day get any worse?"

An inhuman scream came from behind me.

I sighed. "I had to ask didn't I?"

**Author's note: Thanks for everyone's reviews and comments. I appreciate the feedback. At some point I will be rewriting certain sections as the story is not perfect.**

**Having said that, though there are some secrets that will be kept now and not everything will be explained as I intend to write a sequel to this.**

**Next chapter: Ashes to Ashes.**


	9. Ashes to Ashes

**STIGMA**

**Chapter 9: Ashes to Ashes**

"_Remember if you're on the ground, your survival depends on how fast you can move."_

_Carmen had her blade at my throat. She had flawlessly kicked my ass again. I gritted my teeth. This was my apparently my seventeenth birthday gift; more training. It wasn't that she had beaten me. She had been training for years, if anything I expected that._

"_You never smile when you send me flying to the ground."_

"_I don't enjoy this, Alex. There's no satisfaction is defeating an opponent whose skills aren't on par with yours." She paused and cleared her throat. "Now as I was saying, if you're still conscious when you hit the ground you need to start moving. If you can't get up yet keep moving never stop. They can't kill you if they can't touch you."_

I rolled to the right quickly before the creature could plunge its claws into my back. I landed onto my front and slammed my hands into the ground to use as leverage to get to my feet.

"Well I picked a fine time to leave my sword inside." I immediately drew Diabolique and started shooting. But the bullets had little effect other than pissing the creature off. It then shimmered into black mist.

"Fuck." I muttered. Not knowing what the mist would do to me if it touched my skin, I moved in a circular pattern dodging it. A solid arm formed from the mist and swiped at my midsection. I jumped backwards down the hill but ended up slipping.

"OOF"!!!

But instead of landing flat on my back something had caught me by the shoulders. I looked behind me. The superior grin from Adrian made me both want to smile with relief and punch him at the same time.

"A bit of a klutz aren't we?" He then pushed me aside and threw a red orb at the mist. It exploded in a ball of orange flames and a cloud of thick red smog covered it. A scream emanated from it and it retreated backwards.

"Not to sound clichéd or anything but what took you so long?"

"Oh you know, sorting through demonic weapons, books on the underworld, and everything in between."

"Hey Alex, catch!" I turned just in time to catch my sword. Dante and Vergil were running towards us fully armed.

"What did you find?" I demanded.

"My father called it a Ravenetta." Dante answered. "They can be summoned from points in our reality where others have returned from the dead."

"How do we kill it?"

"You can't." Vergil answered. "But we can send it back to where it came from."

"We need to weaken it down enough so when the twins open a portal to the underworld we can just send it flying through." Adrian cocked his shotgun at the mist which was starting to form a shape. "We need to hurry. The blind bomb I threw at it is starting to wear off."

"So what you're saying,"I took first position and held my sword in front of me. "Is that we need to unleash the fury of God on this thing."

The Sparda twins went from human to devil in the blink of an eye. I flinched as I gazed upon Dante's devil form. His skin was black and cracked in places. Through those cracks, light or perhaps his own power shone through. His eyes were orange and yellow in contrast to the glowing green light that emanated from the eye sockets of his twin brother.

Dante must have seen the slightly terrified expression on my face because he flashed a grin and I could see long sharp fangs protruding from his mouth. "Don't worry babe, it's still me." His voice was harsh and it sounded as if two beings were speaking through him; Dante himself and the devil within.

"Sorry." I then refocused my attention on the Ravenetta. "Let's get this over with."

The Ravenetta then reformed into a solid being. For the most part it was truly a giant bird. It had wings, the head of a raven, the sharp beak and obsidian eyes. But the torso and legs were human and it had a set of human arms and hands. It was truly disturbing to look at.

It took flight and stopped about fifteen meters above us. It waited patiently as we stood below watching, waiting for it to move.

"Everybody, stand still," Adrian's hands glowed light blue. "I'm going to cast a barrier."

"We won't need one." Vergil drew a broad sword, but he looked extremely uncomfortable with that type of weapon.

"Well I will. " Blue light flowed over me. "I won't be relying on you to save my ass this time, Vergil."

"Nothing will happen to you. I don't have much of a choice about that. It's quite possible that if you die then I die."

I couldn't keep the smirk off my face. "Well devil boy, I guess neither of us had better die. It probably works in reverse too, in which case we're both fucked."

"I don't mean to interrupt but INCOMING!" Adrian shouted. The Ravenetta swooped down, wings at full span to try to encompass the four of us. Time once again seemed to slow down. I was frozen and couldn't move.

_So this is how you almost killed me last time; a time spell_

I was knocked out of the way and onto the ground. I looked up to see Adrian. I pushed him off me.

"Bastard," I retaliated with Diabolique and swung my sword to collide with its wing. Black blood splattered onto my face. I grimaced.

"Nice going sis," Adrian fired his shotgun at the creature's head. Its head was knocked backwards with a sickening crack.

"Now that's gotta hurt!" I didn't have to even look at him to know he was smirking at me.

"Yeah, yeah Mr Cleaner," I jumped to my feet and lunged back into an offensive position.

"I suggest you two move out of the way." Adrian and I barely managed to clear a path as the Sparda twins rushed towards the Ravenetta in a blur of blue and red. As it was knocked to the ground Dante pinned it down, he lifted his head

"Verge, open the portal!"

Vergil held out his left hand and sliced it open with his right claws. Blood flowed freely down his arm. He looked at me with those awful glowing green eyes and extended his right arm.

"I need your assistance."

"But I'm human."

"Well yes but when I was brought back I was not quite whole. It seems that a part of me flows into you. I need to access that."

I took two steps backwards. "Why can't Dante help?"

"Kinda busy down here babe." I glared at him.

Vergil moved closer, carefully circling around his brother, never taking his eyes off me, blood still dripping from his hand.

"Please?"

"Come on just do it." Dante punched the Ravenettta to keep it down. "I can't remember the last time the word please left his mouth."

With hesitation, I stepped forward and offered him my right hand which he enclosed in his own. The scaly skin felt strange underneath my human flesh but it was not entirely unpleasant. It was cool to the touch.

He opened his right hand and raised his left claw over my hand. "This will hurt a little bit. May I?"

I nodded and grimaced with mild pain as a razor sharp claw slit open my palm.

"_Le Immenta, Lariska, shika spa morme e' tuste apah!_ He closed his left over my bleeding right hand.

"_Le Immenta, Lariska, shika spa morme e' couska schefa schalise._" The air was filled with electricity. It crackled off our bloody hands. I closed my eyes and let the feeling of power well up inside me.

A haunted voice whispered in my ear, "_Le Immenta Lariska, spa tolos ven pute schanto!"_

The power exploded inside me, a flash of light and sound followed. A gray portal opened three metres away from us.

"DANTE NOW!" That voice sounded like me but I didn't remember shouting those words.

Dante effortlessly scooped up the Ravenetta and hurled it towards the portal, however it appeared that it would not go quietly. It remained transfixed in the opening, its eyes watching all of us.

"Dante, what's going on?"

"Its about to give us a clue to who summoned it."

"What?"

He changed back to his human form. "You'll see."

I watched in a mix of fascination and horror as the Ravenetta dug its own claws into its chest and started digging into its chest cavity. Eventually it pulled out a lump of something covered in black blood. The portal seemed to swallow it. It then closed and collapsed into black ashes.

I ran to the object that the creature had left behind and reached out to it.

"Don't touch it! It could be dangerous." Adrian warned. I looked over at the twins.

"He's right. It's been buried in its heart tissue. It could be poisonous." Vergil answered.

"What it is then?" I asked.

Vergil walked over to me and crouched down to pick up the object. The blood dried and turned to dust at his touch. It was revealed to be a key.

"Is it some kind of relic?" Vergil shook his head.

"No this was just an ordinary key but when coated in Sphinx's tears it becomes a key to the underworld. When you take something like to a place where someone returned from the dead, it can open a portal to hell."

I stood up and thought for a minute. The sun was now shining again. The breeze played havoc with loose strands of my hair. My ponytail had fallen out in the heat of the battle.

"That thing was probably after all of us. It conveniently appeared after you returned from the dead." I looked at Vergil. "There was someone who knew where to summon, probably from inside STIGMA."

"Then it summons lesser demons which came after us at Devil May Cry," Adrian breathed. "Both of us were nearly killed. There were only three people who knew where we were going at STIGMA. This mission was classified as top secret."

"But who knew we were here?" I demanded. "I haven't had any contact with my superiors since we left headquarters. Adrian?"

He shook his head. "No. I've spoken to no one."

"Sphinx's tears are pretty hard to come by." Dante seemed to be playing with his sword. "Think Alex, who in your organisation could get this?"

I shrugged. "This is pretty high level stuff. I would assume department heads would have access. But even then, it wouldn't be used outside of the covens. Even Yvanna would have to give a reason why she wanted it.

"So that still leaves us with three suspects," Adrian looked at me. "Mr Giovanni, Yvanna and Carmen."

My heart was filled with worry in an instant. I did not want to consider Carmen a suspect. My own feelings would not allow me to. But still, Adrian did have a point.

"We have to go back there, to STIGMA. I have to know who is behind this."

"It'll be dark in a few hours, sis. We're not going anywhere now."

"I can't just sit here, Adrian!" I snapped. "People I love might be in danger!"

"So you think that you're the only one who has friends and loved ones at STIGMA?" He shouted. "We can't get there tonight!"

"There might still be a way." I jumped. Vergil was standing right behind me. I stifled the urge to hit him.

"Does it involve the phrase, 'It will require your trust,'?

He hesitated. "Something like that."

The deepest of sighs exited my lungs. "Why do I get the feeling I am not going to like this?"

**Author's note: Many apologies for taking so long with this chapter. It wasn't writers block. I knew exactly what I wanted to write but every paragraph was excruciatingly hard to word….ah the joys of writing fanfiction.**

**At this point I will not be translating the three phases of demon language used by Vergil. That will be kept secret for now.**

**I have been tossing around an idea of writing a few chapters from Adrian's point of view. This would be a side project or perhaps an extra to this story after the final chapter.**

**Comments, reviews & criticisms are always welcome. Thanks for everyone's feedback so far.**

**Next chapter: Betrayals & Revelations.**


	10. Betrayals & Revelations Part 1

**STIGMA**

**Chapter 10: Betrayals and Revelations Part 1:**

"Vergil?"

"Yes Alex?"

"I hate you."

"Really?" His voice although as harsh as a cold winter's night was infuriatingly calm, perhaps bored. It almost never seemed to change.

"Yes really. If I survive this, I'm taking your ass down."

"At the risk of your own life?"

I opened my mouth to retort but thought for a moment. "Never mind."

"If you would just hold on in the manner I suggested it wouldn't be so bad."

"Fine!"

We were flying…or rather Vergil was flying. He had shifted back to his demon form. I was barely clinging to his waist. He had suggested that I…well…embrace him to hold on properly. That was a concept I was not entirely comfortable with.

However under the current circumstances I was forced to adjust my position to cling to his neck and rest my head under his chin and he wrapped his arms around my torso…just great.

"You won't fall. Now where do we have to go?"

"A good three hours south of Redgrave. STIGMA headquarters is located in Giovanni Manor in Caruso Port town. Besides the shipping village near the docks, it's the only thing out there.

My right hand was sore for two reasons. Firstly I had landed on it running back down the hill and the bottom of my palm was scraped. Secondly I now had a bandage around a cut that this particular devil had given to me; another cut that would probably leave a scar.

"So who's Lariska?" I dared ask the question.

The wind rushed over us as he sped up. The light of the day was dying now. I felt cold. My short jacket was doing nothing against the wind. However the flat leather knee high boots which had miraculously survived every battle I had been in for the last couple of years seemed to stave off the cold and enclosed themselves over my pants. At least a part of me was protected. I clung to Vergil a little tighter in an effort to keep my upper body warm.

"Someone who died again a long time ago. But I believe I will see her again one day."

"Oh." I had expected either to be told to mind my own business or something more cryptic."

"It's a beautiful name. She must have meant a lot to you."

He didn't say anything. I closed my eyes, feeling exhausted from the day's events. It wasn't so bad. I guess I could tolerate it for a few hours. At the rate we were moving, it wouldn't be too long until we reached STIGMA. He didn't smell too bad either. Those were my thoughts as I drifted off to sleep.

Wait…what did I just say?

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"Alex, wake up. I think we're here."

My eyes flickered open and I turned my head to look down. It was now completely dark but sure enough I could see the lights of STIGMA welcoming me home.

"Yeah that's it. But we can't go in the front way. We'll have to sneak round to where the cleaners loading dock is."

"The what?"

"It's where the cleaners assemble for departure into the vans. You see how the gate is lit up all around?" I pointed downwards, "The front is marked by two red lights on either side of the gate. The right side with the blue lights is the cleaners loading dock."

I switched on the recorder on my headset and checked the time. It was just after 8 pm. "Okay we just got lucky. From five pm onwards cleaners usually leave for routine patrols on the hour to support the agents. There should be no one there until 8.30 when the next group come in to do their final equipment check before their patrol starts.

My stomach was in my throat when we flew in a downwards direction.

"You don't find it odd that we are infiltrating the organisation you work for?"

I grinned weakly while trying not to vomit. "Considering there is an extremely high possibility someone I work with is trying to kill me and you, no I don't. The less people I drag into this the better.

"How many people will be up?"

"Well this place is operational around the clock so around so all of the night staff. I guess around two hundred give or take."

"You are suggesting we hide from two hundred people?" He slowed down as we neared the ground.

"Relax. It's a big place. We'll be able to hide. More importantly I'll be able to find a disguise for you."

We ran up the ramp next to the parking spaces that were reserved for the eight vans. Four of the spaces were empty. At the top of the ramp, three HAZMAT suits were hanging on hooks.

"Perfect." I grabbed one and tossed it to Vergil. "Here put this on."

I watched with interest as he shifted back to his human form and pulled the white pants over his leather ones and then pulled on the jacket and buttoned it up.. He raised the hood over his spiky hair.

"Just keep your head down and follow me. You won't be wearing that for too long."

I then ran to the security door and punched in my access code. The light turned green and the door unlocked.

"Come on," I held the door open while he ran inside. "We have to get to my room. I need a few things.

We walked briskly down the hallways. It would be quiet in this part of the manor for a few more minutes. We would have to be quick.

"How far is your room?"

"The dorms are about fifty meters at the end of this hall.

"Convenient that we came in so close."

"Why do you think I chose that entrance?"

As we reached my room I quickly opened the door and shut it quietly behind us. Vergil pulled off his disguise. The walls were cream but had no posters or pictures on them. Besides the wardrobe with my clothes and a bed there really wasn't much in here.

"What did you come here for?"

I dropped to the floor and reached under the single bed. "I needed extra weapons." I pulled out my black katana and a metal box. I handed Vergil the red katana.

"Here. I think this might suit you more. Sorry, I know it's not exactly Yamato but the blade's pretty damn strong."

"You know about Yamato?" The look on his face suggested he was impressed. I only shrugged.

"I read about it in your case file. It's a nice sword." I opened the metal box and grabbed two extra magazines for my desert eagle and shoved them in the slots of my holster. The black katana went into its slot on my belt.

"You have a gun that never runs out of ammo but you insist on taking bullets for a gun that does?"

I withdrew the desert eagle checked the current magazine. It was still full, paranoid as always.

"Whoever had the power and the knowledge to summon the Ravenetta must have some serious magic backing them up. I'm willing to bet it's someone who has the powers of a witch or warlock. I'd prefer to carry weapons that aren't affected by magic. It's my fall back plan." I then threw him my STIGMA windcheater.

"Put that on and keep you hood up. It will be easier to get into the ops centre if everyone thinks you're an agent. Oh and take this." I handed him Adrian's ID card. "We should be good to go."

As we left I could hear him mutter behind me, "Yes despite the fact that I don't look anything like your brother."

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We had managed to reach the ops centre quickly and without incident. However upon entering ops I breathed cautiously and tried to walk normally past the geeks. I hoped Vergil was doing the same. I had no idea what was going to happen when we passed the Seers.

But as we reached where their chambers were I gasped. The glass room were empty, the candles weren't burning. There was nothing.

"Where are they? Where are the seers?"

"They're gone." Carmen's voice echoed from where she stood in the doorway. "Yvanna ordered them away temporarily. Apparently we're all in danger." She sighed and shook her head. "You had better come in. We have much to discuss."

Inside her office I sat down. Vergil followed behind me. I motioned for him to pull his hood back. Carmen breathed in sharply.

"So this is the infamous son of Sparda. I was wondering if I would ever get to meet you."

"Carmen, what the hell is going on?" I demanded.

"Early this morning, Micah woke up screaming. I should know. Her room is right across from mine. When I ran into her room, she was shaking. She said she had and I quote, 'a vision most awful and unprecedented'. But before I could get anything out of her, she ran to Yvanna. I later found out that she had seen you and brother being attacked. So I assumed the worst."

"You thought I was dead?"

Carmen shrugged. "From what I understand, Yvanna demanded Micah's silence. She later presented a report to myself and the boss that you and Adrian were both dead and that a beast so foul would soon attack us all. Hence all the seers except for Yvanna herself were ordered away."

She handed me an internal email to all department heads. It cited mine and my brother's untimely death as well as the events that lead to said death. The report indicated that Vergil was most likely responsible. If only they knew how true that report could have been.

"I had my doubts about you dying but if the head of the Seers presented a report that you were dead than who was I to question it. But since you're alive and well I'd like to assume that your brother is too and that Yvanna is up to something."

"My thoughts exactly and yes Adrian is perfectly alright." I took a seat. "But what would Yvanna have to gain from my death? More importantly how can Micah have visions of me when the rest of the Seers can't?

She shook her head and reached for her pistol, Osiris. "I don't know but Yvanna _is_ up to something and it's big. We need to be careful here. She's not only the head of the seers but she's also a powerful witch too."

I blinked. It was all falling into place. "A witch…of course! Vergil, she summoned the Ravenetta after us. It all makes sense. Who else could access Sphinx's tears without raising suspicions?"

"The question is why?" He started playing with the hood on his jacket. "Why go to all this trouble? Yes my brother and I are sons of Sparda, your brother and yourself capable fighters, powerful in your own right but so what? What does that mean to someone like her? You said this woman is a seer. Is it possible she has seen something in our futures that she wishes to prevent?"

"I don't know but we'll know soon enough. Either way that bitch is going down tonight!"

**Author's note: I'm surprised at how quickly this chapter came together. Sometimes the words flow like water, other times it's like trying to draw blood from a stone. **

**Comments, reviews & criticisms are always welcome. Thanks for everyone's feedback so far.**

**Next chapter: Betrayals & Revelations Part 2.**


	11. Betrayals & Revelations Part 2

**STIGMA**

**Chapter 11: Betrayals & Revelations Part 2**

As we were about to leave ops Carmen stopped by the door and pressed the P.A button.

"Attention all operations staff,"

At once everyone stopped. The incessant typing came to a halt, worried faces all turned to face our direction.

"I'm ordering an evacuation of all operations staff. You are to assemble in the northern gardens. All team leaders, once you have accounted for your team members you may leave for the evening. Upon returning to your homes you will check in by dialling the emergency number and registering your employee number. Until I have cleared this area safe for return you will remain there. Please back up all individual hard drives and power down all equipment before you leave. Thank you."

As she switched off the voice over she looked at me. "The less people she can hurt the better."

I smiled. "I know. Where is she?"

"Possibly in the round table conference room. Should make for an interesting fight."

"Yes it would. We'll be sure to let you know how it goes."

"What?"

"Dominic, Will," I yelled to the biggest techs. "Can you make sure Lady Detrius gets to safety?"

"Yes Agent McCann." They ran to our side, picked her up and started carrying her off. Say what you want about the techno geeks; they were devoted to Carmen and would do anything to ensure her safety.

"ALEX!!!!! I WILL DEMOTE YOUR ASS FOR THIS!" She screamed as they carried her out.

"Just protecting you Carmen," I grinned. "Sorry but this is my fight now."

"And mine." Vergil's eyes flashed green. "Which way to the conference room?"

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We stood outside the conference room doors. I did a final weapons check.

"Okay we're good." I whispered to Vergil. "On my count we'll rush in,"

He inspected his blade. "Okay ready."

"One…two…th-"

The doors flew open and some invisible force pulled us both inside like rag dolls. I sailed through the air and landed on my side. I groaned and clutched my knees.

"Why does everyone insist on treating me like I'm some toy?" I muttered while rubbing my side.

"Because you are a toy, Agent McCann," Yvanna's voice was laced with a sneer. "You're my toy now." And just to prove her point, I went sailing face first into the right wall.

"You bitch!" I hissed as I collapsed. My ribs were on fire. My head would have a killer bruise if I hadn't fractured my skull already.

"It was so easy to lead you and your brother into that trap with my other toy. It's just a shame that the prodigal son and his nitwit brother had to ruin all that."

Vergil hissed at her, his humanity gone. "You dare to challenge a son of Sparda?" His sword was drawn. "You will not find me such an easy match, witch!"

I rolled over to my side to try to see what was going on. Yvanna now held a machete…such an awful looking weapon.

A blur of blue rushed past Yvanna and suddenly Vergil was at her back, holding his sword to her throat.

"Do you wish to keep fighting?" He hissed.

She only laughed and vanished right before our very eyes.

"Where did she go?" I whispered. Vergil stood very still, appearing to try to guess his opponents next move.

The room was completely silent. I turned my head and gasped.

"Vergil, the ceiling!"

But I wasn't quick enough and Vergil almost wasn't as the seer brought her sword down upon his head.

CLANG!

He had blocked the blow but just barely. The two engaged in a fearsome duel which was faster than anything I had ever seen. Blow after blow was exchanged. Blood flew off both of them so I assumed that some blows were landing, but who's?

I couldn't just sit there while this was going on. Using my right hand I managed to pull myself up into a sitting position. But what could I do? I had no magic skills, I wouldn't have been able to keep up with her in the condition I was in and the only guard I had against magic were the lead bullets in my gun and my pockets.

"Lead bullets," I whispered. "That's it'!" I pushed up my jacket sleeve, withdrew my desert eagle and fired a grazing shot at the side of my left forearm. I immediately fell back to the ground, my arm burning with pain.

"Maybe that wasn't such a good idea."

At once the clanging stopped. Both devil and witch stared at me. I pulled myself to my feet, gun in hand, left forearm bleeding.

"What are you doing?" Yvanna demanded. She raised her hand to throw me I assumed but barely anything happened. All I felt was a light breeze.

"You may be a pretty powerful seer and a witch Yvanna. But even your powers are limited against lead."

I fired the gun and watched with amusement as she dived to the side. I grinned and withdrew my sword.

"It's time to go to town bitches!" I noticed Vergil still staring; his arms decorated with mild cuts, his shirt had noticeable tears in it.

"What?"

"You are crazy."

I shrugged. "And?"

"DUCK!" I rolled to the side to avoid a sword through the gut. Yvanna and I exchanged blows. She was incredibly fast but it appeared that she had been using her magic to increase her speed. Around someone who had lead in their body, her powers were greatly decreased.

"What's the matter, seer?" I taunted her and then executed a spin kick, knocking her to the ground. "You can't even beat an agent who has no psychic powers and no magic. All I have is combat skills and just enough crazy to shoot myself in the arm."

She laughed bitterly. "It's a pity your parents didn't put up such a fight like this."

I shot her in the right leg. She screamed as the bullet pierced her shin bone.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I demanded.

"Your mother was screaming for mercy when the demons I sent after her tore her apart, and your father; ha! He would have screamed if I hadn't put my machete through his stomach."

Despite the blood pouring from her leg, she was laughing, no cackling. That bitch was cackling about murdering my parents. I shook with anger. I couldn't move I was so furious. I was so angry that I didn't notice the machete that was sailing through the air until it was almost too late.

"ALEX!" A very human voice yelled. Before I could react I was knocked backwards by a warm lump on top of me. Both my sword and gun also knocked out of my hands.

"Vergil, get off me…wait a second." I pushed him gently off me and looked at him. The sword was sticking out of his ribs, possibly through his thorax.

"Vergil! You idiot!" I slapped him. "Do you want to end up dead? You'll kill me too!"

He only smiled weakly. That was the first time I had seen him smile. "I have been injured but it's not mortal. Until she inflicts much, _much_ more damage you're safe. But you'd better hurry. Do you know what to do? Do you know how to stop her?"

I thought for a moment. "I have to cut off her powers."

"Exactly. You know what to do. Go!"

I rolled over and grabbed the gun and ran towards her. Before she could react I fired twice. One bullet for each hand to cut off her access to her powers. I jumped in the air and upon landing brought the katana upon her right wrist, then her left.

The screams from her could not be described. I just stood there watching as she writhed and bled. I didn't feel any sense of satisfaction or vengeance. Just cold and hollow.

I moved closer to her and pointed the desert eagle directly at her head.

"Why?"

"Because you are in the way of my master's plan for this world; you, your brother and the sons of Sparda. And he will not rest until all four of you are dead!"

"Who is your master?" My voice was low and deadly.

She laughed. "Even in my disgrace I will not stray. I will always be loyal to him."

"I don't think it's doing you much good, Yvanna. In fact it's not doing shit."

"It was that damn link that that saved you." Her eyes misted over. She was having a vision. "My god he linked you to him and your brother to Dante but why? If one pair of twins lives then so will the other. Why would he do something so foolish?"

"Oh for gods sake," I cocked the gun. "You don't have anything else useful to say do you, Yvanna."

Her grey blue eyes grew wide when she realised what I was about to do. "You wouldn't."

BANG! Her life had ended with one shot. One bullet hole through her forehead and her life was over,

"Actually yes I would." My voice was shaking.

I collapsed to my knees, my hands touched the ground and I was trembling, tears seeping slowly down my face. I hadn't cried in a long time. Why was I crying now?

The tears kept flowing and emotion welled up inside me. I felt the loss of parents I never knew, parents Yvanna took away from me. I did the only thing I could do; I screamed. But it wasn't high pitched. It was strangled with grief and rage.

"Alex, get up." From somewhere a voice called to me. But I didn't move. I couldn't.

"Alex, you need medical attention." A sigh of annoyance followed that voice and foot steps approached. The next thing I knew I was being carried out of that place. I closed my eyes and surrendered to what was happening. Everything faded out in warmth and kindness…kindness from a devil. The last thing I had ever expected from him.

Those were my thoughts as the irresistible lull of sleep called to me and I surrendered to the darkness once more.

**Author's note: One chapter to go! Woo hoo! Then that will be followed by mass editing and what I'd like to call 'Deleted Chapters' or 'Story Extras'. That's right. I'll be picking one or two chapters to write from Adrian's point of view. I don't like swapping POVs in the story but I do want to write these so they'll probably be all finished in the next few weeks.**

**I hope all you guys have a great and safe holiday season and a good new year. Please keep safe. I have appreciated your feedback and comments. Please keep them coming.**

**Next Chapter: Who am I really?**


	12. Who Am I Really?

**STIGMA**

**Chapter 12: Who am I really?**

"_I'll protect you." A childlike voice echoed in my ear._

"_Stubborn child. He won't leave her side." A kind voice spoke in the abyss._

_I was floating in this abyss. But I wasn't afraid. This place was peaceful. It wasn't full of pain, death and violence. It was safe. I was safe. I was the only one here. I had no form, no meaning, and no self._

_A little girl giggled and ran to me. Her brown curls were bouncing in pigtails. She wore a lavender dress._

"_My name's Lariska. Who are you?"_

_I tried to open my mouth to reply' but certainty turned to doubt and the words didn't come. Was my name really Alex?_

"_I'm not sure." I admitted to her. "Maybe I'm not really here."_

_Who am I really?_

A blinding light was what greeted me as I came back to the realm of the living. I looked around. I appeared to be lying in the medical wing, still wearing the clothes I had been when I was fighting Yvanna.

My ribs ached, my head felt like it was a balloon and the graze from where I had shot myself didn't feel too good either. I loved my job but honestly it was days like this that I had considered becoming a combat instructor and leaving the bone crunching pain to someone else.

I imagine that was also in the thoughts of Dr Hanif and my brother as they stood beside my bed in the medical wing, staring at me.

"What?"

"You've been out for nearly a day. You have broken nearly all of your ribs, you have a mild concussion and…" Dr Hanif paused searching for the right words.

"You used your own gun on yourself." Adrian finished. "I'm starting to wonder if Mom dropped you on your head as a child."

I shrugged. "Knowing me, I probably did that to myself."

Adrian grinned. "Probably."

"I'll have to take you off active duty while your ribs heal." Dr Hanif was writing a report. "Probably at least for a month, if not more depending on how fast you heal."

"You're making me take time off?" I groaned. "What am I supposed to do for a month?"

"Whatever you want." The familiar voice laced with both impatience and caring called from across the room as Carmen entered.

"Am I still demoted?" I dared to ask.

"Only if you don't take the time off." She sat on my bed. "Mr Giovanni would like to see you."

"Crap. He's gonna fire me isn't he?"

"Who knows?" She smiled teasingly at me.

"Thanks boss. Knew I could count on you for support."

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I had been escorted to Mr Giovanni's personal chambers as the battle caused some damage to the round table conference room. That fact alone probably wouldn't win me any favours with the boss. Also slaughtering his head seer in an act of family vengeance probably didn't help either.

His chambers were his office during work hours but I suspected they were also used for something more personal. There was a large antique wooden desk with a computer and a lamp but the walls were coloured in a rusty red. The room would have been dark but there were lanterns with candles on each of the walls.

The room extended out onto a balcony. Dark curtains, framed two glass doors that were open, letting the afternoon sun and a sweet smelling breeze floated in. Various paintings and weapons covered the walls. A record player sat on a wooden stand behind the desk.

I stood there patiently as Mr Giovanni looked over a report, possibly the one involving me where I had shot a department head in her…well…head.

"Yvanna's corpse had one bullet in her right leg which shattered her femur. Her hands were severed from her body. The killing blow or should I say killing shot was a bullet to the head." He looked at me. "You inflicted all this?"

"Yes sir." My voice was steady enough but truth be told…I was on the verge of soiling myself.

"Yvanna's betrayal of STIGMA has been verified of course. She would have been put to death upon my return from trying to find your supposed corpse along with your brother's. However I would ask that you tell me your reasons for this?"

I didn't hesitate. "She confessed to the murder of my parents."

"And you decided to pursue your right of vengeance without verifying this?"

"Not only that she betrayed STIGMA and she tried to kill me and my brother. She didn't deserve to live."

He closed the report and sighed. "Well I suppose you are right but if I may; you are young and you have made irrational decisions. Killing her like this will have consequences. You need to tread more carefully. Alexandra, you have much potential but I fear you will get yourself into more trouble than you can handle."

He leaned back in his chair. "That is all for now. You are dismissed."

I stood there for a few moments stunned. "You're not firing me?"

"No little one. I am not. After all you did save me the trouble of putting her through a trial and dealing with the nonsensical argument with the bureaucrats of keeping her alive versus having her put to the death. I will deal with the legalities. You just keep doing your job and start using your head a little bit more."

"Yes sir." I turned to leave but I had a question. "Mr Giovanni, did you happen to discover why Yvanna and the seers haven't been able to see my future or my brother's?"

"Not yet. We're still investigating. It's possibly the result of witchcraft. We may never know. As for Yvanna's claim of another master we still have no answers there either."

"Thank you sir. I won't take up anymore of your time."

I left quickly and didn't breathe until I had reached the large balcony outside his office. I sat down on the bench near the white railing and relaxed.

"So do you still have a job?"

I laughed and turned around. "Yes Dante. I still have my job."

Dante was leaning against the brick wall across from me. "It's too bad. I would have loved for you to come out and work with me."

I smiled. "Well that's very flattering but my place is here."

"Apparently so is my brother's."

I blinked a few times. "I'm sorry, what?"

Dante strolled over and took a seat next to me. "Let's just say he has a few fans among your nerds."

It took me a second to realise what he meant. "Oh you mean our researchers and analysts. They gave him a job?"

"Yeah. Looks like you get to see your favourite devil all the time."

"Great." I deadpanned. "What about you? I don't suppose you're planning on sticking around are you? Vergil and I are likely to try to kill each other."

"Well as tempting as that sounds, I have to go. I've got my own place to be as well." He stood up and stretched. "But you're welcome to come work with me anytime you want."

I stood and offered him my hand. "Thanks Dante. I guess I'll see you around."

"I guess so." He shook my hand and walked away. I turned back to the sunlight and smiled. Ok so I was being forced to share my employment space with 'my favourite devil' but I was alive and I still had my job. Maybe things weren't too bad after all.

But there were still questions I needed answering. Firstly who had linked my life to Vergil's? Who was Yvanna serving and what were his plans for the human world? But one question sat in my mind above all others.

Who was I really? Doubts about my past and my identity had seemed to only just pop up now but they were always at the back of my mind, in the black hole that was the first eight years of my life. I wondered now if my link to the prodigal son of Sparda had anything to do why that part of my life was seemingly blank.

"No good thinking about it now." I muttered. It was time to go on vacation. I could worry about this shit when I came back to work.

**Author's note: Well is the end of STIGMA. I do have plans for a sequel in the works. Hopefully I should have the first part up soon.**

**I'll be shelving the bonus chapters for now. I wasn't able to write them but I haven't ruled out the possibility of continuing on with them later.**

**I don't know if anyone had picked this up but some chapter titles were taken from the names of musical pieces. I'd love to know if anyone knows where each are those are from.**

**Thanks for everyone's comments, reviews and feedback. I have appreciated every one of you.**


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